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https://github.com/ecsx-framework/ecsx

An Entity-Component-System framework for Elixir
https://github.com/ecsx-framework/ecsx

ecs elixir entity-component-system game-development game-server-framework realtime simulation

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An Entity-Component-System framework for Elixir

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README 

        
# ECSx



[![Hex Version](https://img.shields.io/hexpm/v/ecsx.svg)](https://hex.pm/packages/ecsx)

[![License](https://img.shields.io/hexpm/l/ecsx.svg)](https://github.com/ecsx-framework/ECSx/blob/master/LICENSE)

[![Documentation](https://img.shields.io/badge/documentation-gray)](https://hexdocs.pm/ecsx)



ECSx is an Entity-Component-System (ECS) framework for Elixir. ECS is an architecture for building real-time games and simulations, wherein data about Entities is stored in small fragments called Components, which are then read and updated by Systems.



## Setup



- Add `:ecsx` to the list of dependencies in `mix.exs`:



```elixir

def deps do

  [

    {:ecsx, "~> 0.5"}

  ]

end

```



- Run `mix deps.get`

- Run `mix ecsx.setup`



## Upgrading



While ECSx is pre-v1.0, minor version updates will contain breaking changes.  If you are upgrading an application from ECSx 0.4.x or earlier, please refer to our [upgrade guide](https://hexdocs.pm/ecsx/upgrade_guide.html).



## Tutorial Project



[Building a ship combat engine with ECSx in a Phoenix app](https://hexdocs.pm/ecsx/initial_setup.html)  

Note: This tutorial project is a work-in-progress



## Usage



### Entities and Components



Everything in your application is an Entity, but in ECS you won't work with these Entities directly - instead you will work with the individual attributes that an Entity might have. These attributes are given to an Entity by creating a Component, which holds, at minimum, the Entity's unique ID, but also can store a value. For example:



- You're running a 2-dimensional simulation of cars on a highway

- Each car gets its own `entity_id` e.g. `123`

- If the car with ID `123` is blue, we give it a `Color` Component with value `"blue"`

- If the same car is moving west at 60mph, we might model this with a `Direction` Component with value `"west"` and a `Speed` Component with value `60`

- The car would also have Components such as `XCoordinate` and `YCoordinate` to locate it on the map



### Systems



Once your Entities are modeled using Components, you'll create Systems to operate on them. For example:



- Entities with `Speed` Components should have their locations regularly updated according to the speed and direction

- We can create a `Move` System which reads the `Speed` and `Direction` Components, calculates how far the car has moved since the last server tick, and updates the Entity's `XCoordinate` and/or `YCoordinate` Component accordingly.

- The System will run every tick, only considering Entities which have a `Speed` Component



### Generators



ECSx comes with generators to quickly create new Components or Systems:



- `mix ecsx.gen.component`

- `mix ecsx.gen.system`



### Manager



Every ECSx application requires a Manager module, where valid Component types and Systems are declared, as well as the setup to spawn world objects before any players join. This module is created for you during `mix ecsx.setup` and will be automatically updated by the other generators.



It is especially important to consider the order of your Systems list. The manager will run each System one at a time, in order.



### Persistence



Components are not persisted by default. To persist an entity, use the `persist: true` option when adding the component. The default adapter for persistence is the [ECSx.Persistence.FileAdapter](lib/ecsx/persistence/file_adapter.ex), which stores the components in a binary file. The adapter can be changed using the `persistence_adapter` application variable:



```elixir

config :ecsx,

  ...

  persistence_adapter: ...

```



Currently available Persistence Adapters (see links for installation/configuration instructions):



- [ECSx.Persistence.Ecto](https://github.com/ecsx-framework/ecsx_persistence_ecto)



## License



Copyright (C) 2022 Andrew P Berrien



This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or any later version.



This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the [GNU General Public License](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html) for more details.